CHFN(1) User Commands CHFN(1)
NAME
chfn - change real user name and information
SYNOPSIS
chfn [-f full_name] [-r room_no] [-w work_ph] [-h home_ph] [-o other]
[user]
DESCRIPTION
chfn changes user fullname, office number, office extension, and home
phone number information for a users account. This information is
typically printed by finger(1) and similar programs. A normal user may
only change the fields for her own account, subject to the restrictions
in /etc/login.defs. (The default configuration is to prevent users from
changing their fullname.) The super user may change any field for any
account. Additionally, only the super user may use the -o option to
change the undefined portions of the GECOS field.
The only restriction placed on the contents of the fields is that no
control characters may be present, nor any of comma, colon, or equal
sign. The other field does not have this restriction, and is used to
store accounting information used by other applications.
If none of the options are selected, chfn operates in an interactive
fashion, prompting the user with the current values for all of the
fields. Enter the new value to change the field, or leave the line
blank to use the current value. The current value is displayed between
a pair of [ ] marks. Without options, chfn prompts for the current user
account.
FILES
/etc/login.defs
Shadow password suite configuration.
/etc/passwd
User account information.
SEE ALSO
chsh(1), login.defs(5), passwd(5).
User Commands 02/25/2007 CHFN(1)